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A project log for Sci-fi grade Home Automation

A system that ties some home automation with various APIs and hardware hacks.

conradcnconradcn 08/19/2014 at 20:330 Comments

In preparation for the final submission deadline tonight, I wanted to talk about some of the most recent changes I've made to the platform:

First: I have re-factored the database to pass results back either as a simple string or as JSON, instead of as javascript. This made the code across the board much more legible, and let me make the daemon a lot more sophisticated without a ton of text parsing

Second: I added TCP bulbs and the blind minder into the final build. The TCP integration is described in the GitHub repository, and the blind minder is in the build log.

Third: I created an AutoHotkey script to run a proper good morning and good evening routine (along with some new dashboards to go with them). That should also be in the repo.

Fourth: I cleaned up the interface look and feel to fit more with the modern aesthetic of the rest of the apartment. The Tron nods are more subtle now (except for in the mobile app), but I think the system looks better for it.

As far as future development goes, I have a bunch of ideas for things to do:

First and foremost: more control surfaces are a must. I have some old droids to re-purpose into light switches using the app, and another spark core is on the way for an outlet switch in the bedroom

Second, I would like to clean up the 3-D printed parts with some sanding and re-forging so they look a bit more solid. Right now they look very printed, mostly because they were all done on a mostly-stock Printrbot Simple with lousy calibration, and barely touched up afterwards.

Third, I would like to look into more systems to talk to. The Phillips Hue seems like a good candidate, and maybe some more traditional (X10, etc) systems would be good fits as well.

Finally, I want to experiment with more information sources than Reddit and Fitbit. Taking some leaves out of the "A Day Made Of Glass" playbook, calendars, messaging, and other more social data streams could be integrated smoothly to add an extra personal touch.

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